Trick-or-Treating in Nairobi

If you live outside of a kid-saturated surburban housing development in the United States, you've probably had the same experience I've had the last several years on Halloween: you go out and buy a bunch of candy, turn on the porch light, and happily anticipate the doorbell of the first trick-or-treater. Then you proceed to wait...and wait...for the doorbell to ring. By the end of the night, maybe 5 trick-or-treaters have come by, and you're stuck with a huge bowl of candy to eat yourself.

I'm happy to report this was not my experience in Nairobi last night. The Embassy organized trick-or-treating in our compound of 60 houses. The best part was I didn't even have to buy the candy!! The parents of the trick-or-treaters provided candy in advance to our social activities office, who then distributed it to the houses who were giving out candy. So, last night I happily spent an hour giving out Snickers and M&Ms to princesses, goblins, Captain America, jedi knights, werewolves, and other costumed munchkins. And all I have left are a handful of Tootsie Rolls and hard candies. Success at last!

KFC

Although I would not be caught dead in a Kentucky Fried Chicken in the US, the first KFC in Kenya opened a couple of months ago in Nairobi, and I couldn't resist checking it out.

The word is that the line has been out the door since opening, so we decided to go during the week, when crowds would likely be smaller. We timed our visit perfectly because we didn't have to wait at all!

I ordered the two piece chicken meal with fries and a drink for $5.80 and Jeremy got the "fully loaded box" of one piece of chicken, a chicken burger, fries, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a drink for $7.80. Sadly, they do not have biscuits here in Kenya. They have an item called "mini loaves" that are Kenya's attempt at something resembling "bread on the side," but the min loaves didn't look appealing enough even to sample.

We ate in the restaurant, which actually had a nice atmosphere, compared with the depressing, dirty, harsh fluorescent environment of a US fast food restaurant. They actually had a couple different seating options, from sitting at a side bar with tall white stools, to regular tables, to a comfy couch area.

Business was good for a Thursday night; I would say about a third of the tables were full and people kept showing up as we were eating. We also had the pleasure of an experience straight out of white trash, fast food America: a mother yelling at her kid and shoving food in his mouth as he moaned and fidgeted in his chair!

I have to admit: I'm not much of a fried chicken eater, but it tasted good!